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Shane could hear him outside. He wanted to give him his privacy like he always he did, but the conversation had been going on for longer than he was comfortable with. He stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen, leaned his body against the island and watched his husband pace back and forth through the window. He watched as his arms swung in exasperated frustration. He watched him close his eyes, pinch the bridge of his nose and take a deep breath to calm his nerves. Ilya’s voice got louder, and Shane’s patience got thinner.
“Yeah, this is done,” Shane said to himself as he drummed his knuckles on the island before pushing himself off and walking to the door. He pushed it open.
“I sent you money last month, Alexei!” Ilya screamed in Russian. “It is not my problem that you cannot manage it well!”
Shane closed the door softly behind him.
Ilya hadn’t seen him walk outside. He could hear Alexei’s voice on the other end. Screaming, like he always was. But he couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“No, no. Do not do that.” Ilya’s shoulders slumped. “I love my niece. You do not get to say that to me. She is the only reason you and I are having this conversation.”
Shane had spent years watching this same conversation play out. It used to just be noise. He could only tell something was wrong based on Ilya’s body language and the mood switch. Sometimes Ilya would let him comfort him. Most of the time he would brush it off like it didn’t matter. All of the time, Shane knew the truth.
That every conversation was breaking Ilya’s already broken heart into tiny pieces. That Ilya continued to take the abuse because he hoped that maybe one day Alexei would change. That Ilya felt responsible for his only remaining family
Ilya reminded him of his Dad, in a way. Loving family that refused to love him in the way that he deserved. It took his Dad some time to cut communication with his parents. His Mother always encouraging him to keep his heart open. Saying she didn’t mind that they didn’t like her. That all that mattered was his love.
Shane was like his Mother in a lot of ways. He was not like her about this.
He walked over to Ilya and grabbed the phone out of his hand.
“Shane, what are you—“
“Alexei, this is Shane,” Shane said in Russian. “I need you to listen to me well because I’m only going to say this one time.”
“Put my fucking brother back on the phone!” Alexei yelled.
“No, you’re done talking to him. You’ll never talk to him again if I have anything to do with it.” Shane didn’t yell back, he didn’t need to. Just like he didn’t need to fight on the ice. He would beat you in all the ways that actually mattered.
“Moya lyubov',” Ilya said softly while reaching for the phone. “Please.”
Shane backed away and turned his back to Ilya.
“You don’t get to fucking tell me—“
“Shut the fuck up or you’ll never see another dime.” Shane waited for Alexei to speak but he stayed silent. “He doesn’t belong to you. He’s not yours to abuse. You’ve been bleeding him dry since he was 18 and you’re lucky it took me years to learn about how fucking horrible his family is. But I’M his family now. And this shit is fucking done.”
Ilya was looking at him with wide eyes. Maybe Shane was crossing a line. Maybe Ilya didn’t need him to do this. But Shane needed to do this. He needed Ilya to know that it could be done, even if he felt like he couldn’t be the one to do it.
“There will be a trust set up for our niece that she, and let me be really fucking clear… ONLY she, will be able to access once she turns 18. You are going to receive one more lump sum payment to do with as you please. Snort it up your nose. Spend it on prostitutes. Buy a new fucking personality. I don’t care. But I’d suggest you get a financial planner because it’s the last fucking dime you’ll ever receive from Ilya. Am I clear?”
“… and what does Ilya say about this?” Alexei finally said after a few beats of silence. Shane could still hear the anger in his voice, but that tone had changed significantly.
“How does Ilya feel about this?”
Shane turned and looked at Ilya who had tears in his eyes. He walked back over to him and cupped his face gently. Shane didn’t say anything. He just looked at him, silently communicating with his eyes. Ilya knew this language well.
Is this okay? Please. I need this to be okay. I can’t be a witness to your pain any longer.
Ilya swallowed and gave the slightest nod of his head. Shane leaned in and softly kissed his lips before bringing the phone back to his ear.
“He’s fine with it.”
“Oh? So why is he not saying this to me himself?” Alexei spit back.
Shane raises his voice for the first time. “Because I’m his fucking husband and he doesn’t have to. You’ll hear from our lawyer soon. Don’t call this fucking number again.”
Shane ends the call. He wished he had a landline so he could slam the receiver. He took a deep breath of his own and closed his eyes. He opened and closed his fists. The anger was finally starting to manifest itself through the tension in his body. He opened his eyes when he felt Ilya’s hand grab his.
“Your Russian is very good when you are angry.” Ilya said with a soft smile.
Shane huffed a laugh. “I learned from the best. I spent so many years listening to you be pissed off on the phone.” Ilya frowned. “Hey,” Shane’s voice softened and he placed his hands on Ilya’s waist, pulling him closer. “It’s okay. I just hate seeing you in pain. You’re not alone. I needed your brother to finally realize that. When he hurts you, he hurts me.”
“I would kill anybody who hurts you,” Ilya said with conviction as he wrapped his arms around Shane’s shoulders.
“Likewise. I figured you’d prefer what I just did over me purchasing a plane ticket to Russia.”
Ilya laughed. “No one ever believes me when I tell them how terrifying you can be.”
“Yeah, well, they don’t need to believe it. They just need to know that I may play with you, but I don’t play about you.”